Same Blue Sky
by yuzuremon
Summary: Through a stumble in circumstance they come to arrive upon the same doorstep, beneath the same roof, sharing in the same warmth, separated only by their fragile reservations. As the seasons pass and the leaves turn around them they grow to find each other beneath the same blue sky. Modern AU. Slice of life.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm finally writing a fic! I don't really know where this is going, I just really wanted to write it. So here goes. It may be terrible. I wouldn't hold out for a riveting plot, but please leave a review either way.**

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"-and don't forget any luggage, please!"

Katniss jerks awake at the sound of the driver announcing her stop. She rubs her sleep-bleary eyes and rises from the musty seat, grabbing her backpack and jacket, and descends the bus. The air outside is a little humid, but pleasantly warm.

The bus is parked in front of a squat brick building, an old sign hanging over the doorway reads something in Irish, and the interior looks like a deserted old pub. A newer, polished sign is erected on the ground in front of the building and reads, "Student Union".

At the driver's grunt Katniss remembers her bags, and bends down into the hold to retrieve them. Moving away to college she had packed most of her belongings with her – at least those she didn't share with Prim – and found everything fit mostly into a suitcase and a moderately sized duffel. The only thing that doesn't fit inside are her bow and quiver of arrows, which she slings over her shoulder.

Nobody else gets off the bus with her, and as it drives away she is left alone in the sudden silence that overtakes her surroundings. Across the road from the brick building lies a large empty field, and to the right a lake surrounded by drooping willows. With no bearings to go on Katniss walks up to the student union and tries the door, only to find it locked. Circling the building she finds every other door locked up as well, but she does also notice a board on the far side facing the lake. It is quaintly labelled 'Campus Map', but the depiction is so comically disproportionate and removed from what a map actually looks like, Katniss struggles to make any sense of what she sees before her.

At the sound of an approaching car she turns around and finds a woman crawling by in a small grey car emblazoned with the words, 'Campus Safety.'

"Excuse me, ma'am!" she calls out, running over to the car. The woman slows down to a stop and rolls down the window. "Sorry, ma'am. Um would you be able to point me in the direction of – uh –" she fumbles in her pocket and pulls out a wrinkled scrap of paper. "Could you tell me where the uh- the Hob-? is, please?"

After receiving directions from the Campus Safety officer Katniss gives her bag another pull and heads on down the main street. The front yards down the left stretch of street stand messy and unkempt, leading to a series of houses that judging by their alphabetic naming must be Greek societies. She can hardly see herself falling into that scene and hopes it itself doesn't end up sprawling out into her life here either. Nevertheless, Katniss is still able to smile as she breathes in deeply and takes in her surroundings. The majority of her vision fills with clear blue sky and luscious green foliage. On the street corner she even spies a squirrel sniffing around in the freshly mown grass whose familiar scent reaches her nostrils. At least part of this campus can remind her of home.

Turning left at the five-way intersection she walks to the end of the block and finds herself outside the establishment named The Hob. After a glance back down at the paper from her pocket to double-check the name she gingerly pushes the door forward.

The interior smells strongly of coffee beans and cinnamon and the curiously incongruous aroma of star anise. Dimly warm lighting bounces off alternating chocolate and forest-green painted walls, half of which are further cloaked by an array of hand-quilted tapestries. The squeak of the wheels on Katniss' suitcase becomes immediately muffled by the thick rug at the doorway as she makes her way to the counter.

A girl with shortly cropped brown hair glances up from her idle doodling and shoots Katniss a grin.

"Cheers. And how might I help you today? Beverage? Pastry? Sandwich?"

As she speaks her teeth reveal a tongue-piercing to complement those also nestled in her lip, eyebrow, nose and ears. The low-cut tank top she wears exposes a vine-like tattoo sprawling across the bare expanse of her left shoulder. And yet, she looks mildly harmless, framed at the counter under a multicoloured array of hanging mugs.

"Uh," Katniss' gaze flickers back and forth between the electric blue stripe in the girl's hair and the Thanksgiving turkey mug dangling above her left ear. "Hi. I'm looking for someone named Sue?" She clears her throat a little. "About, um, an apartment?"

The girl scrunches her nose momentarily. "We don't have any Sues here, but we do have a Sae. If you're here about an apartment that's probably who you're looking for. Let me see if I can get her for you. You want a drink? Rory here'll help ya."

With a jerk of her thumb behind her she disappears behind a curtain. Katniss sinks slowly into a leather stool at the counter and a guy, presumably this Rory, approaches her. Although he doesn't look like he could even be her age yet, he's dressed in soft plaid like a lumberjack and sports an impressive pair of mutton chops to complete the ensemble. A smattering of piercings adorns his left eyebrow and Katniss is positive she could easily fit three fingers through the bright red gauges in his earlobes.

"What can I get you?"

"Just a mint tea, please." She wonders if these two employees are locals or specimens of what she should be expecting from the rest of her fellow student body come orientation.

A while after she's settled down with her tea the curtain flies open again to reveal the girl from earlier followed by an older woman in an oversized sweater and fly-away greying hair.

"Ah! There she is!" she exclaims and rushes over to the counter to grasp Katniss' hand. "So sorry, honey, I clean forgot you were coming today and my shift don't actually start for another two hours, otherwise I woulda been here to-"

"Oh well I could've just w-"

"Nonsense, nonsense, child!" she cuts Katniss off with a particularly vigorous squeeze to her hand. "I should've remembered and that's that. So you must be Katniss, right? I'm Sae, your landlady, you already know that. Grand, grand. Since my shift's not started yet shall I show you up to the apartment?"

"Oh. Um. Yes. Thank you." Katniss hurriedly drains the rest of her tea and grabs her suitcase, quickly following Sae, who moves surprising fast for someone who looks so aging.

Sae leads Katniss out the front door of The Hob and around to the end of the street, rounds the corner and backs up into an alleyway behind the café. A small white wooden staircase leads to a door on the second floor, and after they've ascended Sae jingles around in her keychain before unlocking the door for Katniss to step in.

The apartment is pleasantly spacious, a dining-living area stretches out from the threshold and Katniss notes a quaint round dining table, a well-worn coffee table, and two invitingly soft couches cloaked in colourful throws and tablecloths. Some of the wall is decorated with cat-themed decals and she wonders whether Sae or a previous tenant was a cat-person.

"Here's the kitchen, I replaced the gas stove with an electric one because the last student nearly set the place on fire," Sae narrates as she wanders around the space, opening and closing doors and closets as she moves. "Bathroom is here, there's the broom closet. I've got two bedrooms here, but you're free to use the spare as whatever you like, studio, whatnot, or maybe find yourself a roommate at some point, whatever you like…"

Sae's narration continues on in the back of her conscious as Katniss surveys the bedrooms. Each one has a standard sized double bed (complete with cat-themed bedsheets, she notes), a desk and chair, a generous but somewhat dusty bookcase and she's surprised to note a walk in closet in one of them.

"So," Sae's ramblings eventually wind down, "any questions?"

Before Katniss can even begin to process a response Sae barrels straight on.

"If there's anything you need, honey, anytime at all you just pop over downstairs, I'll most likely be in The Hob. You can use the back door if you like, I'll let them folks down there know you'll be coming through. And if it's not my shift, here's my number," she pulls out a small paper packet and scrawls a number on it, handing it over to Katniss. "Oh yeah, and inside's your key. All set?"

A little overwhelmed by the constant stream of words that seem to flow undeterred from Sae's mouth, Katniss simply nods and murmurs a quiet thanks. The woman squeezes her hands tightly and bids her farewell for the evening. "If you're feeling lonely or homesick you should come hang out downstairs with us, we're really a friendly lot and we only bite a little." With a last wave she disappears behind the door and Katniss listens to her footsteps receding down the stairs and a door slamming a second later.

"Well. Let's get started then."

Katniss pulls out her laptop, sets up some music and, singing along to herself, proceeds to unpack. The afternoon flies by quickly and soon the soft orange glow of sunset paints the walls of the small apartment. In the midst of hanging up her shirts she is interrupted by the groan and grumble of her belly, and begrudgingly she throws on some shoes and runs downstairs to the pizza parlour neighbouring The Hob to grab a few slices which she takes upstairs to munch on while she proceeds to organise her books.

As she's just finishing sweeping up all the dust she's kicked up in her move a siren blares outside. She watches as blue and red flash outside the living room window, wondering if this is a common occurrence in this sleepy village of Panem. She vaguely recalls Sae mentioning they are located close to the fire station.

It's several hours later as she's curling up in bed with a book, all cleaning finished, ready to succumb to slumber that a knock comes at the door. She scrambles out from under the covers and heads straight for the door, forgetting already which spot in the room she'd assigned her robe to.

It's Sae.

"Hey sweetie, sorry to bother you so late," she starts and Katniss opens her mouth to assure the older woman it's really ok, but she's already learning that once Sae starts to talk no force, least of all Katniss herself, can stop her. "I know this is kind of sudden and short notice and a _huge_ favour to ask of you but I've got a little emergency case on my hands. Could you help me out, honey?"

Katniss wonders how she could possibly be of help to Sae, whom she's known all of seven hours, only one of which she actually spent in Sae's company, but she nods anyway, at a loss for what else to do.

"One of my employees," Sae continues, "a student at the college actually, is in a bit of a pickle. House burned down pretty badly, you probably heard all the sirens earlier today, I think? I feel kinda responsible, you know, being kind of boss and also mom-away-from-home, that's how I am with all my student employees really, can't leave poor birds alone without a mother hen, and it would weigh so much on my conscience you know, since I've got this free bedroom up here and I ain't offering it up 'cause you live here and all, but I feel so bad… Would you mind very much, Katniss, if I gave you a roommate for a little while until this little housing situation gets sorted out? I just can't leave a soul stranded and it probably won't be so long, and you two could split the rent, make it easier on you, too-"

All of Sae's rambling is rapidly becoming a muddled mess in Katniss' sleepy mind, and all she's able to filter out is the possibility of having an impromptu roommate and lower rent. This doesn't immediately sound to her like a terrible idea, and although Katniss knows she's hardly a social butterfly or even a little bit of a people person, she figures in the worst-case if she can't get along with this girl she'll just keep out of the way. It's not like they're sharing a bedroom after all, and Katniss expects to be spending many hours in college or at the library keeping up her grades so she doesn't lose her scholarship. So she makes possibly the quickest decision of her life, standing half dressed in the doorway of her apartment.

"Of course, Sae. It's totally fine, I understand," she responds firmly, hoping to stem Sae's increasingly nervous explanation.

"Thank you _so_ much, sweetie, we really appreciate it. I'm so glad this can work out."Sae sighs visibly in relief and turns to speak to someone at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, come on up then."

A heavy tread comes up the stairs and Katniss get the first glimpse of her new roommate from the light that streams out of the doorway onto the stoop at the top of the stairs. Blonde hair sun-kissed golden, a dimple hugging a shy smile of heart-shaped pink lips, and startling sky blue eyes that nearly knock the breath out of her lungs.

"Katniss, this is Peeta." Sae's voice floats through to her brain. "Peeta, Katniss. You kids play nice, ok?"

Suddenly Katniss wishes she were wearing a little more than just her panties and an oversized shirt.

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**The descriptions of most places and a number of people are based on my actual college campus and the surrounding village. The Hob is based on a real coffeehouse called The Barge, where I work most weekends during the semester. Some of Sae is based on the night manager (whom Katniss mistakenly refers to by her real name), and Johanna's and Rory's appearances are based on real employees there.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

By the time his car pulls into the sleepy village of Panem the sun is just setting, dashing splashes of pinks and purples and oranges across the clean August sky. He heads straight for his landlord's at the far outer side of the village up on Victor's Hill. The wooden house betrays a meticulously crafted architecture but decades of being inhabited by the friendly village drunk has left it dilapidated, the paint missing more than flaking off, and the roof shingles dangling like icicles.

The air outside his tiny beat-up car is as crisp as he remembers, with a waft of a burnt smell that makes him wonder to himself which faculty member is having a barbecue this time. The steps of Haymitch's house creak reliably beneath his feet and the door thuds hollowly beneath the rap of his knuckles. After several moments he tries again. And again.

_Probably passed out drunk again, _he figures.

"Haymitch!" he hollers. "I'm coming in!" He gives the door a shove and to his immense surprise finds the door locked. He tries the back door to the same results.

Stranded for the time being without any house keys and the reliable drunk unexpectedly MIA, Peeta releases a sigh and turns back to his car to head to one of the few places of temporary refuge in this little community and hopefully a place he can find out Haymitch's whereabouts.

The Hob on a Thursday night is fairly empty save for a couple nestled in the cushy armchairs by the big bay windows and a group of girls he vaguely recognizes, playing Scrabble at a low coffee table in the back. He can see Johanna leaning against the counter doodling idly as always and Sae standing next to her, casually sorting sugar packets as she chats to one of the locals. The bell over the door gives a tinkle as he enters and Jo glances up automatically at the noise.

"Ah! Bread Boy!" she exclaims.

"Peeta, sweetie! Good to have you back!" Sae leans a little awkwardly over the counter and tries to grab him in a hug but settles for a few shoulder pats when her arms don't quite reach al the way. "Have you been back long? All settled in yet?"

"Actually no," he chuckles, scratching the back of his head absently. "I was wondering if you might know where Haymitch is. He's not home and he even locked the door, but I need to get the keys for my house from him. He kept them over the summer for some kid who was doing summer research."

"Well, I ain't seen that delightful drunk since last night, but he's sure to turn up eventually. You wanna make yourself comfortable in the meantime?"

"No other choice, right?" Peeta smiles sheepishly at her.

"Oh you," Sae swats his head affectionately. "Jo'll make you your favorite chai latte, now, won't she?"

Jo grimaces and abandons her doodling, but turns to Peeta with a wink as she grabs a cup off the shelf. "Skim or whole, handsome? You like you've gained a little."

"Oi." He swipes his hand out to pinch her cheek but she ducks away and cackles at him from behind the steamer. "I see your drawing skills have improved. Moving away from awkward stick humans to flowers and bushes… they're a bit disproportionate, though."

"That's a vagina, you dolt," she deadpans as she sets his mug down, and he blushes beet red, hastily shoving her notebook away.

Long after his chai latte has been drained and he's cracking jokes with Jo as some kid messes around on the piano out front, the door slams open. The bells above the door jangle loudly and a strong gust of boozy air blows into the peaceful warmth of the Hob.

"There he is, the man of three hours ago!" Sae calls out jokingly.

Haymitch grunts by way of response and lumbers over to the bar stool. He looks almost as bad as he smells.

"Special brew," he mutters to Johanna, who glares at him momentarily before disappearing into the kitchen and returning with a non-descript mug of hot fluid that smells of spices and death. Haymitch downs half the contents in one swig and slaps his hand on Peeta's shoulder.

"Congratulations, kid. You're homeless."

"I – what?" Peeta surveys his landlord's face to check for signs of drunkenness (for Haymitch) or a joke and finds none. "Wait. What do you mean? Are you kickng me out? Hang on now, you can't do that!" he protests.

Haymitch rubs a hand over his temple and downs the rest of his drink. He holds it out to Johanna for more, then turns back to Peeta. "Listen, I can't help it. I actually like you as a tenant."

"Well then why-"

"Your house." He clears his throat. "Kind of uh. Burned down today."

Peeta can only blink in response.

"So _that's_ what those fire trucks were wailing about earlier," throws in Johanna as she returns with Haymitch's refill. "Soo… what happens to our resident baker, then? I'd room with him but I think he'd get too comfortable in my bed." She winks and runs her tongue piercing across her lip in a distinct if-you-know-what-I-mean manner. Peeta winks right back to humor her, but his frustration is evident as he runs a hand through his hair.

"I guess I'll have to apply to get back onto campus housing, but that could take a while as they sort out all the incoming freshmen…I'd need to find somewhere to stay until then anyway. I don't know if anyone's got openings… most places in this tiny neighborhood of a village are always rented out well before the spring's even over. Haymitch, you got space on your couch?"

Johanna scoffs. "Not unless you wanna snuggle up real close with his liquor. I'm sure _those_ ladies won't keep you warm at night."

Haymitch only shrugs and continues to entertain his drink friend of the night. Peeta sighs and looks down at the countertop. The few friends he's managed to make the last year are mostly kids from fairly well-off families and are comfortable remaining on the more expensive option of on-campus housing, which unfortunately for him means chances of crashing with any of them are dwindling fairly fast. He briefly considers Finnick who's moved in down the street near the dairy, but he remembers Finn's excitement at the prospect of actually living together with Annie and he can't bring himself to intrude on the couple's first weeks of bliss.

"Well actually," he's interrupted out of his thoughts by Sae's voice. "Technically my upstairs… There's technically a bedroom that's unoccupied. I mean, only one person is renting the apartment now, so y'know, if the new tenant doesn't mind I could let you move into that second bedroom temporarily. If you don't mind living with a stranger, that is, and if neither of you mind the arrangement. I dunno, just a thought. Better than nowhere, right?"

"Sae, are you serious? Like, actually, that would be so fantastic if you're serious."

"Of course! You know I'd do my damndest to help you, Peeta! Come on, let me go ask Katniss if that's okay."

Peeta follows Sae out round the back of the Hob and waits at the bottom of the stairs while she speaks to her new tenant. He can hear an awful lot of Sae's prattling and he can't make out a single word of response for a while. He well remembers many hours spent having his ear talked off by the sweet old lady as they worked together in the Hob. Abruptly, Sae's voice cuts off, just for about two seconds, followed by inordinate amounts of thanking and then her head's back around the door gesturing with a smile for him to come up.

He is relieved to have so quickly been able to secure a replacement living space. Nevertheless he is fairly nervous about this unfamiliar arrangement, too and his steps are a little hesitant as he climbs the steps.

"Katniss, this is Peeta. Peeta, Katniss," Sae introduces as he pokes his head around the door. He honestly means to smile, reach out a hand and say 'Hi' but the pleasantry dies in his throat, which instantly dries at the sight of his new flatmate.

Katniss turns out to be a petite brunette, with smoky grey eyes, her waist-length hair tucked neatly into a side-braid, a spattering of freckles across her nose and a guarded smile. But what has really gotten Peeta's tongue at this moment is her attire – or perhaps lack thereof. He tries to will himself to avert his riveted gaze _away_ from the soft, tanned expanse of thigh bared by her barely oversized shirt, and he is mortified when her small hands fall into his field of vision to tug self-consciously on the hem of her shirt.

Instantly he tears his eyes way and intently fixes his gaze on her face. Her cheeks are bright and her eyes glued to the floor, and he has to resist following her gaze back down, too.

He clears his throat. "Uh, h-hi. Pleased to meet you," he stammers and holds out a sweaty hand, wincing internally at his choice of wording. He hopes she doesn't look at his crotch to confirm how _very_ pleased he is indeed. This introduction is going much less smoothly than what he had imagined in his head, but he plows ahead valiantly. "Um, thanks so much for agreeing to this, Katniss. I really really appreciate it. I uh, hope we can get along while I'm here."

Her hand is smooth in his as he finishes talking and she retracts it quickly as he lets go. She continues to look at the floor and mumbles something in response, nodding her head. Well aware of her immense discomfort at being half-naked before him, he decides to excuse himself to go grab his things and leaves with Sae.

As he pulls his belongings out from the trunk of his car his mind wanders back to his more than attractive flatmate and mentally berates himself for acting like a teenage horndog. He really hopes Katniss was too busy studying the floor to notice his ogling her very bare and very enticing thighs. He loudly slams the trunk closed and shakes his head in an attempt to clear it of all his inappropriate thoughts. He takes a few breaths and tells himself it will be a piece of cake to be sensible about living with a pretty girl. He's been platonic friends with Delly for years and he's well aware of her _assets_.

By the time he's back at the door knocking, because Sae didn't happen to have the duplicate key with her, Katniss appears to have found a robe and extra long pyjama pants for good measure.

"Hey," she says quietly as she lets him in. She eyes his backpack and travelling bag and asks, "is that- did the uh, did the rest of your belongings burn, too?"

"Oh," he glances at the bags, "no. Luckily, I had to move all my things out to a storage unit. My landlord had another student living in the house while I was away over the summer. If you don't mind me spreading out too much, I'll be picking up my stuff from storage tomorrow. Technically supposed to have had it out by today…so.."

"Sure, um, no problem." She gnaws a little on her bottom lip. "You're… welcome to stay as long as you need. Like. Um." Her cheeks color a little again and she clears her throat. "I already moved into that room in the back, so I guess you can take the one by the kitchen there…" she gestures to the doorway, "I haven't put anything in there yet, I think…" she trails off again and he tries to smile reassuringly. "It's – I cleaned it already," she squeaks out.

"Thank you, Katniss," Peeta says softly. He wishes he could somehow put her at ease. She continues to fidget with the fraying ends of her sleeves. He exhales a little. "Well, I guess I'll try to be quiet as I unpack. I'm sorry for disturbing you so late, you probably want to be getting to bed right?"

She turns even pinker and looks down at her feet, and Peeta belatedly realizes he's inadvertently alluded to her recent state of undress.

"Right, well." He coughs uncomfortably, feeling his own face heat up. He tries to busy himself gathering his belongings up. "Goodnight, Katniss. I'll see you in the morning." And with that he disappears into the bedroom and hides behind the closed door.


End file.
